Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon dressing the dolls for cooler January weather. Molly wears her Play Outfit with the gray and red plaid flannel shirt. I haven't gotten her oxfords yet, so she borrows Kit's. Kit wears Rebecca's School Outfit with Samantha's black strap shoes. Samantha is in her gray flannel School Outfit and the black boots from Rebecca's School Outfit. Felicity will be warm and cozy on the trail in her emerald green Riding Habit. Jessa is in her original Meet Outfit with the yellow felt sweater and black corduroys and a flower-print long sleeved AG shirt from the 2002 Ready for Fun meet outfit. Ariel wears Julie's orange and blue embroidered long-sleeved tunic, dark blue corduroy gauchos, and boots. Josefina and Barbara Jean are both in hand-made eBay outfits. Josefina wears a lovely blue and red flower print Empire-waist dress, while Barbara Jean's yellow dress has long, full sleeves and pin tucks on the chest.
Listened to records while I worked. Merrily We Roll Along is the 1981 musical adaptation of the 1934 play that goes backwards in time, showing the dissolution of a movie producer, his wife, and his best friend from the acrimonious debut of his latest film to their high school graduation. Apparently, Sondheim suggested this one because he wanted to work with teenagers. He may have thought the idea charming, but he was the only one who did in 1981. Audiences and critics alike found the book too bitter and difficult to figure out, though Sondheim's music was praised. It was so badly received at the time, it ended Sondheim's collaborations with producer Harold Prince until 2003.
I can see why people wanted to give this a second chance, even after the original production flopped. "Old Friends," "Good Thing Going," the searing "Not a Day Goes By," and the title song are among the best Sondheim ever wrote. The cast is mostly unknown and kind of shrill, though Jason Alexander can be heard as a washed-up Broadway producer. Apparently, a lot was re-written and re-worked after this production failed, enough that a revival off and on Broadway in 2023 and 2024 with Johnathan Groff as Frank and Daniel Ratcliffe as Charley was a surprise hit. I might have to look for that one too and see what's different. As it is, the original cast is worth hearing for the wonderful songs and unique plot alone.
I was so late getting out to the Thomas Sharp School, I ate my lunch with the kids. It was even nicer today than it was yesterday, sunny and warm, without a bit of wind, probably in the mid-50's. The kids had a great time running around outside after their snacks. I made sure there was no fighting over the swings and kept an eye on my watch to make sure everyone got enough time. The other kids danced to "Takedown" from KPop Demon Warriors and various kids' dance numbers or chased the other teachers. They were so funny playing tag! I hadn't laughed so hard in ages.
Grabbed dinner and put on Copacabana after I got home, after a quick stop at the Speedy Mart for a Propel water. I go further into the 1985 TV movie version of the Barry Manilow song at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Watched Match Game Syndicated after the movie ended. Gail Farrell was the only cast member of The Lawrence Welk Show who was brave enough to join the lunacy on Match Game. She was joined on her week by an even more famous musician, diminutive singer-songwriter Paul Williams.
Switched to Remember WENN after the show ended. "Sight Unseen" becomes the first of two episodes in a row to deal with minority relations in the 1940's. In this case, a blind girl (Molly Ringwauld) comes the station to meet her hero "The Vagabond." The Vagabond is played by Mackie Bloom, who is a short, balding character actor and anything but the suave, handsome man he thinks she wants. He's the one who learns a lesson when she points out that he's just a voice to her, but one that means more than all the sight in the world.
"The Emperor Smith" is George Smith (Howard Rollins), a black waiter Betty hastily puts on the air as the sexy Lord Bramley in one of Hilary's soaps when Mackie gets laryngitis. He's a sensation, but this is 1940 Pittsburgh, and blacks playing anything besides waiters is still frowned on. Betty and the cast jump through hoops to keep their "mystery man" under wraps when a gossip columnist insists on getting the full scoop.
Finished the night with more Copacabana. Manilow expanded the movie into a full stage musical in the early 90's. Though it has yet to play Broadway, it did run two years in London from 1994 to 1996 and has toured the US. Here, the story is framed as a songwriter imagining the story of his newest brainchild, and Tony is not the one who dies in the end. The framing is a bit confusing, but I actually think the ending here works better than the more tragic one in the movie does. Some of the additional numbers are fun, too. I love the opening "Just Arrived" that depicts Lola and many other women arriving in New York to find stardom, the hilarious "Who am I Kidding?" for Sam Silver after everyone at the Copa convinces him to keep an eye on Tony in Havana, and the meta-romance "This Can't Be Real."
Even the Muppets had their own take on the song in The Muppet Show. Liza Minnelli performed it with two Muppet monsters representing Tony and Rico in a hilarious spoof of 40's film noir from the 4th season. Kermit is the private eye trying to figure out who's killing the cast, while Piggy is Minnelli's jealous understudy.
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